Fat Freebass Fb383 Manual Woodworkers
They're quite different. The Freebass is 'limited' but sounds good to me, real VCO and an authentic 303 filter - it feels and sounds like a real analogue synth. The Novation is far more flexible but the DCOs, the stepping on the pots and general tone of it upset some ears. I've still got a BassStation rack but sold a Super one as the MIDI response went to crap if you twiddled the knobs while it played. I've had a MB33 Mk2 as well and that has more MIDI on it, PWM, a sub-osc and distortion but has a much sharper tone to it than the Mk1 (Freebass/MB33). It does the Hardfloor Acperience and Pump Panel style 303 noises well but I ended up keeping the Freebass.
You'd probably get a Freebass for half the price of a Super BassStation. Dialectic 17th October 2010 11:13 PM. There isn't many rack mounted ones? Theres the Bass Station, Freebass, Deep Bass Nine.
Thats about it?! The Deep Bass Nine and Doepfer MS-404 (not really a 303 clone, but a nice mono synth anyway.) are both rackmountable though, and do have external audio inputs.
Neither should be expensive, but both are old enough and were made in limited enough numbers that you might struggle to track either down. If you could forgo the rack mount thing, and perhaps the external audio input option too, then your choice of 303 clones becomes much broader.
Crufty 17th October 2010 11:32 PM. If you could forgo the rack mount thing, and perhaps the external audio input option too, then your choice of 303 clones becomes much broader. Ideally the unit would be rackmountable due to limited space and convenience. I'm not exactly on a mission to find something that delivers the most convincing 303 replication either. Basically looking for a nice analogue LP filter to process some samples, synths, drums etc and if I can get an inexpensive rack synth that combines this with a synth engine capable of producing some intresting 303 type sounds then that would be perfect. Rockmanrock 17th October 2010 11:58 PM. Thank you both for the links & info so far.
Rockmanrock, how do the filters etc compare between the superbass station and Freebass when processing external sounds? I've never put anything through my Freebass! One annoyance with it is if you plug something into the filter input jack it switches off the VCO so you can't leave it plumbed into a patchbay. There is a mod somewhere on the net to fix this though. I've put a few pads and other sounds through the BassStation and it's not bad. Quite a sharp filter I think.
Here's an old 'music from the future' mag demo, the first half isn't very impressive at all. Rockmanrock 18th October 2010 12:03 AM.
Feb 29, 2008 FAT Freebass / MAM MB33 Problems + Midi. FAT Freebass / MAM MB33 Problems + Midi channel settings. Seeing as manuals for the Fat Freebass or MAM MB33 seem. Freebass FB-383. Roland TB-303 Bassline clone. Analogue monosynth module. This unit is in excellent condition having been racked all it's life.
I have a BassStation Rack that also does the thing where the knobs stop working after it's twiddled a lot in one patch. Mine also hums rather badly now- it needs a service. They are very good sounding, versatile synths though. Great for bass and lead synth, plus they can be chained to play polyphonically too (if you wish to stretch out on buying lots!). I wonder if Novation still repair them. The VST bass-station is very good, but you can't beat the real thing. What happened to the Supernova is what I'd like to ask.
Great synth- sadly discontinued. Even the softsynth is a scaled down effort (but quite usable still). Rockmanrock 18th October 2010 12:07 AM. You sure you need a rack mount? Because if you have a small amount of table space i'd recommend the x0xb0x instead. It has filter input, real 303 sound, and it acts as a midi - cv adapter. You could probably get a built one off ebay and rack mount it yourself and make a custom rack mounted b0x.
It'd be dead easy to do as the schematics are free to download and you could just make a simple switch-over to panel mount pots and wire them over to the board's solder holes easily enough. AvS 18th October 2010 08:57 AM. You sure you need a rack mount? Because if you have a small amount of table space i'd recommend the x0xb0x instead. It has filter input, real 303 sound, and it acts as a midi - cv adapter.
You could probably get a built one off ebay and rack mount it yourself and make a custom rack mounted b0x. It'd be dead easy to do as the schematics are free to download and you could just make a simple switch-over to panel mount pots and wire them over to the board's solder holes easily enough. X0xb0xes are great (I've built 2) But they don't have a filter input.
Although I believe it is easily added. You might be thinking of the mix input? I reckon these are the best sounding hardware 303 clones out there though thumbsup ------- dialectic: You might want to seek out a Control Synthesis Deep Bass Nine. But not many were made, so they don't appear too often. They are not the best 303 clones by any means, but are at least a very good bass/mono synth in their own right. Plus they have a switchable filter input that sounds pretty decent as I remember (I've not used that feature on mine for a while). I don't think they are worth so much these days, so if you did come across one, I think it would be worth snapping up.
Dialectic 18th October 2010 07:43 PM. I have had a little look into the Control Synthesis Deep Bass Nine but as you point out they don't seem to appear on the market very often. I think for price and availability the Freebass FB383 seems to fit the bill for me and judging from the sound-bites that I have heard it seems to offer a more than usable sound. Would like to hear some feedback from users of the Freebass with regards to its effectiveness of filtering external sounds (or if anyone knows of such links). Also, as previously mentioned, I would like to obtain a copy of the manual to check on specs etc In addition to this, if anyone has any other suggestions/alternatives then i would be pleased to hear from ya. Dialecticmusic 22nd October 2010 01:37 AM. I've had the deep bass 9 for many years now, and it does have a decent sound.
I bought it at Turnkey in London, and compared it directly with the Freebass. The Deep Bass 9 has a more solid sound, and is less noisy, the knobs are good quality, but can be difficult to tweak.
Build quality is great, and there are pots inside that you can modify to increase resonance range etc. It has a decent built in power supply, and has been pretty solid in the 15 years I've owned it. MIDI implementation is limited, only note, cutoff frequency (uses the modulation parameter for this, so the resolution over MIDI is pretty good) and portamento/glide. Portamento can be applied using the standard MIDI PC on/off for portamento, or by overlapping notes. There is also limited accent control, on or off depending on the velocity played, and a knob for the amount of accent.
I would recommend it if you find it pretty cheap, it has a good basic timbre, but it needs to be tweaked in real time for most things. I think it would have been greatly improved by a portamento knob, and better MIDI implementation. MoonK 22nd October 2010 01:53 AM. I am currently looking around on the 2nd hand market for an inexpensive rack mount synth to play around with in the studio that can offer some usable 303 type tones, a decent LPF and external input to process drum loops, samples etc. Currently considering maybe the MAM 383 Freebass or maybe the Novation Super Bass station but would like some opinions/suggestions. Many thanks in advance.
Hey there, i owned both and the regular bass station. I think i wasn't the only one with the issue (if this is an issue) but my mam would act quirky whenever i would turn it on. The tuning had a 15 second lag it seemed. And no notes would play for about 5-7 seconds. If you only need the 303ish sounds, the mam would suffice, however the superbasstation is far more editable for programming. It's also a lot more fun. I would even consider the bass station, from my own ears, it sounded warmer to me than the sbs.
Oli 22nd October 2010 09:41 AM. I have the SBS and DB9. Both are OK synths, and cheap now. My SBS has very weak gain for its external input. I can't use it at all.
I'm not sure if my unit is faulty in this regard. I never tried using the SBS as a 303 clone. I don't think it's very good in that regard. The SBS can do its own thing though, which works for me.
I also have problems with the SBS choking on CC data. It boasts a comprehensive MIDI implementation, but in practice it doesn't really mean much. I didn't find the knob response overly stepped though.
The DB9 is not bad. Again, I don't really use it in the same way as a 303. It can do pretty punchy, aggressive bass sounds, though only in a very simple way. I also use it for simple leads, and bleeps etc. I don't think the DB9 filter is well implemented though. From memory, you have to turn up the envelope mod a fair bit to hear much effect.
Install Mtn F Stlink Modem Software Download here. I never tried an external input on it. Dialectic 22nd October 2010 11:30 AM.
Thank you for these posts guys, most informative and I'm sure will be of interest/help to others as well as myself. Will keep my eyes open for a DB9 but will probably opt for a FB383/MB33 (though alternatives have not been ruled out yet) due to them appearing for sale more frequently and at a really good price. Was about to purchase one the other day from ebay but the buyer removed it from auction due to a power supply issue. I'm still interested to hear some opinions on how these units perform when processing an external signal as I'm keen to have a simple analogue LP filter at hand to process drum loops, samples, digital synths etc in realtime. Any comments or links to audio files would be great. Any links for the Freebass MB383 manual? MoonK 22nd October 2010 02:26 PM.
Thank you for these posts guys, most informative and I'm sure will be of interest/help to others as well as myself. Will keep my eyes open for a DB9 but will probably opt for a FB383/MB33 (though alternatives have not been ruled out yet) due to them appearing for sale more frequently and at a really good price. Was about to purchase one the other day from ebay but the buyer removed it from auction due to a power supply issue. I'm still interested to hear some opinions on how these units perform when processing an external signal as I'm keen to have a simple analogue LP filter at hand to process drum loops, samples, digital synths etc in realtime.
Any comments or links to audio files would be great. Any links for the Freebass MB383 manual? Like any synths it will sound better through your external lp.I remember a youtube video with a mam and a distortion pedal, gave it more growl if you will.
I'm just not sure of its reliability. The mam that is. (theres like 5-6 different versions through different names btw. But its all cosmetic) dialectic 2nd November 2010 06:59 PM. Although not a 303 clone, the Korg Monotron has just recently caught my attention which does feature an external input like the Freebass, bass Station etc but apparently has the same VCF circuit as the MS-10 and MS-20. With its low price tag it seems that its worth getting just for the analogue filter alone but I have read reports that some users have found the unit really noisy when they attempt to process an external signal.
Has anybody here had any experience with this product? Valis 2nd November 2010 07:33 PM.
I've got an original Basstation Keyboard and wanted to chime in & say aside from the stepped parameter input on the knobs (and having only 5 knobs send midi to boot) my basstation still works perfectly. No 'loss' of knobs after lots of twiddling or lag in response to input. At the same time I don't feel it's a 'good' 303 emulation though it can get most of the way there (and almost hit the autoglide feel.) As a synth overall it's very plastic feeling, and I use it almost exclusively for subbass (using the resonant filter) dives or sweeps and the occasional 'cheeky' Luke Vibertesque synth lines (as that's all the oscs really can do imo.) I've gotten a few grungy basses out of it too, but there are so many synths that can do that so much better. Anyway I think the OP is on the right track, just wanted to chime in that my unit at least is responsive and working correctly after all these years (2nd owner and got it in 96 or so.) lovekrafty 2nd November 2010 07:38 PM. Thanks guys, more helpful and informative posts.thumbsup lovekrafty, I completely forgot about the syntechno tee bee 303, thanks for the reminder of this worthy contender! However, as rookas has pointed out I believe the prices to be kinda high. I'd love to hear more about the units that have been mentioned so far in the thread with regards to how they compare when processing external signals.
As I mention in my 3rd post, I am primarily looking for a low cost analogue filter to tweak around with in the studio to process samples, drum breaks, synths etc. The likes of the Freebass FB383 appealed to me as it appears to offer such a filter along with a useful synth that is capable of producing some usable 303 type tones which would also be of use to me. However, do you guys think that i would be better off seeking out a dedicated filter unit (maybe a cheap Peavey Spectrum Filter?) or do you feel that the filters on these 303 clones will serve the purpose? Lovekrafty 2nd November 2010 08:54 PM.
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